Thursday, February 16, 2023

President issues statement on earthquake in Turkiye and Syria

A message from Vivek Goel, President and Vice-Chancellor.

On behalf of the University of Waterloo, I want to express my condolences to our Turkish and Syrian community. I see the devastation, fear and grief caused by the recent earthquakes and I mourn with you.

When a catastrophe like this unfolds, we all have a part to play. Our International Student Experience team has reached out directly to Turkish and Syrian students studying here to offer our support. The University has also shared mental health resources with all students and staff so that our community knows where to go for help.

I am proud that right now, a small group of students and staff is leading a donation drive here on campus. Earlier this week, postdoctoral scholar Ilknur Umay, a native of Türkiye and a leader of this response, shared a very personal appeal for relief. “There is power in the collective,” said Umay, and I agree.

The area impacted is quite cold this time of year and thus the need for arctic tents, blankets and winter clothing is heightened. As Canadians we are uniquely positioned to provide this kind of support, and I personally urge everyone to donate these needed items to Engineering 7, room 6332 by 5:00 p.m. on February 20.

The items will be delivered by Umay to the Turkish Embassy in Toronto which will be sending these items to those most in need. Please be sure that you are donating new shoes/boots, all other items may be gently used.

The most significant way to contribute is through monetary donations if you are able – the Government of Canada is currently matching donations made to the Red Cross campaign.

For those who do not have the means to offer material support, I hope you can take the time to connect with any friends, or colleagues who are affected by the earthquakes to just check in and see how they are doing.

It is the mission of this University to make the world a better place, and it's times like these where I have full confidence that we will come together to support each other.

Sophie Spirkl receives Sloan Foundation Fellowship

This article was originally published on the Faculty of Mathematics website.

Sophie Spirkl, an assistant professor of Combinatorics and Optimization, has received a prestigious Sloan Research Fellowship from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. Spirkl is one of 125 early career researchers in the United States and Canada who received a Fellowship this year.

The Alfred P. Sloan Foundation is an American philanthropic nonprofit organization established in 1934 to support research and education related to science, technology, and economics. Since the first Sloan Research Fellowships were awarded in 1955, only 17 faculty from the University of Waterloo have received one (including this year’s winners).

“I’m very honoured to receive the Sloan Fellowship,” Spirkl says.

Spirkl’s research focuses on graphs with forbidden induced subgraphs – “which roughly means that certain small patterns don’t appear,” she explains. “What does this local information tell us about the graph as a whole? I am interested in answering this question, both by finding large-scale structure and by developing more efficient algorithms for these graphs.”

The Sloan Fellowship will allow Spirkl to expand her research team and increase their opportunities for traveling to conferences and workshops.

“Professor Spirkl is the most apt choice for being bestowed this prestigious fellowship, and I am most delighted with this outcome!” says Chaitanya Swamy, the chair of the Department of Combinatorics and Optimization and Spirkl’s nominator. “She is widely regarded as one of the strongest graph theorists of her age in the world, and the breadth and depth of her research is quite impressive.”

To learn more about Spirkl’s research, visit her research website. To learn more about the Sloan Foundation and this year’s recipients of Research Fellowships, read their press release here.

Martin Cooke named Assistant Vice-President, Academic - Leadership and Strategic Initiatives

A message from the Office of the Associate Vice-President, Academic.

The Office of the Associate Vice-President, Academic is pleased to announce the creation of the new role of Assistant Vice-President, Academic – Leadership and Strategic Initiatives. The first to hold the role will be Martin Cooke, who will move from his current role as Associate Dean, Undergraduate Students in the Faculty of Arts. Dr. Cooke is jointly appointed in the Department of Sociology and Legal Studies and the School of Public Health Sciences.

In addition to a strong record in various academic leadership roles, Dr Cooke is a successful teacher and productive researcher. His research focuses on Canadian demography and policy, with an interest in the life course, population change, and social policy—including aspects of family and households, fertility, population aging and migration, and policies like social assistance and pensions.

This new role will be part of the leadership team in the AVPA office, with two primary areas of responsibility:

1. Leading the Academic Leadership Program, which helps academic leaders develop management and leadership skills and expand their knowledge of University policy
2. Leading, on behalf of the AVPA, projects undertaken in implementation of the University’s strategic plan

The Academic Leadership Program has largely been inactive for over a year. For its re-launch later this year, Dr. Cooke will be charged with leading its ongoing evolution to better meet the University’s needs and address strategic priorities and will be empowered to make the changes needed to do so.

“I am very much looking forward to contributing to the culture of leadership at Waterloo and helping to meet the challenges we have set for ourselves. I am especially excited to work on the further development of the Academic Leadership Program and to support colleagues who are in, or are contemplating, administrative positions. The leadership program should improve our collective ability to make the changes that we have identified in the strategic plan. I am hoping that a renewed ALP will have a strong focus on active mentorship and leadership skills development, in addition to job-specific administrative knowledge. I am excited to start working with colleagues across campus on its development.”

His first two-year term officially begins May 1, 2023, although the AVPA office has already begun seeking his input on strategic projects.

Intentional Leadership in-person event coming up in March

A message from the Office of Advancement.

Join us for an in-person ‘armchair chat’ with Rose M. Patten, Special Advisor to the CEO of BMO Financial Group and Chancellor of the University of Toronto. Vivek Goel, University of Waterloo President and Vice-Chancellor, will moderate the conversation. 

Date: Wednesday, March 1, 2023  
Time: 1:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.  
Location: Engineering 7 Event Space, 2^nd Floor 

Please register by Thursday, February 23, 2023. 

In a future that promises opportunity and waves of disruption, great leaders will need more than technical expertise to deliver results for their organizations. Human-centered skills will enable change makers in every sector to build high-performance teams that achieve their goals. 

In a discussion of her new book, Intentional Leadership: The Big 8 Capabilities Setting Leaders Apart, Rose M. Patten will reveal the top skills required for the human side of leading. She will draw on in-depth research and her celebrated career in Canada’s financial sector to share insights that differentiate top executives and leaders across the country.   

If you wish to buy a copy of the book in advance, it is available through the W Store. A limited number of copies will be available for purchase at the event. 

Employee and family assistance provider offering wellness sessions this month

A message from Human Resources.

Providing support and encouragement for well-being amongst our employees is a fundamental part of our holistic approach to ensuring a healthy workplace environment at Waterloo. With the help of the Healthy Workplace Committee, in partnership with Human Resources and Homewood Health, Organizational and Human Development has organized various wellness sessions for you to attend virtually over the winter and spring 2023 terms. These online learning events will be one-hour in length and will be facilitated through Microsoft Teams by Homewood Health, the provider of our Employee and Family Assistance Program (EFAP), for employees at the University.  

There’s something for everyone, from positive parenting to stress busters to the emotional effects of retirement. Explore the descriptions and amazing timetable of wellness sessions being offered to see which dates and times fit with your schedule. Registration for all sessions is open now in Portal. Space is limited to 40 participants per event, so register early to avoid disappointment.